


A Scientific Blemish

by CharmyWizard, eternalglitch, jadethestone, tiramisu_art



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: A patchwork collaboration that makes a full story while also being super fun, Angst, Blood, Experimentation, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kidnapping, Needles, New take on Bishop since he hasn't appeared in Rise yet, Tcest people dont touch, writing and comics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24630886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharmyWizard/pseuds/CharmyWizard, https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalglitch/pseuds/eternalglitch, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadethestone/pseuds/jadethestone, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiramisu_art/pseuds/tiramisu_art
Summary: A down-on-his-luck scientist finally gets a change to restore his reputation when he gets his hands on the one thing he's been chasing for years - a mutant turtle.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 158





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of context: me and a few friends were complaining that experimentation fics for RotTMNT were most of the times badly handled for our tastes (too dark, too gorey, not quite fitting the Rise tone, etc) while we also thought it would be a super interesting story concept. So we ended up brainstorming ideas for this trope and I couldn't help but try to write some of the scenes I had in my mind.
> 
> Later on, the friends joined in as well.

This time it had to work.

The scientist took a few steps back, carefully inspecting his work.

He had spend years trying to capture these creatures, these mutants that had been hiding in this city.

Years ago he had seen them, running and jumping along the roofs, human-like animals. Only once he managed to take a picture, it was blurry, but it was evidence. At least he'd thought so, as no one wanted to believe him.

The trap was simple, on top of the roof a fishing line was spanned, barely noticeable for anyone who wouldn’t know it was there. The creature would trip, fall down and land in the empty dumpster here in the alley. The weight would trigger a mechanism that would lock the dumpster, effectively trapping whatever had fallen into it.

He looked it all over again. If only he could catch one of these creatures this time, he, John Bishop, could finally prove their existence to the boards of the higher scientific institutes. They declared him crazy years ago for sharing his theories about mutated animals in New York, the fools.

How many times he has tried since then..

Bishop looked at his notes another time. He had set up so many traps these years, why did they always fail? Why did nothing happen?

Frustrated he crumbled the notes in his hands.

_This is useless, why do I even bother trying.._

He turned around and was just about to get in his car -

when the sound of _“wait for me guys!”_ followed by a _twang_ , a short shriek and a loud _bang_ of a body colliding with metal stopped him dead in his tracks.

Bishop froze and walked slowly towards the dumpster. The fishing line on the roof had snapped, something had indeed tripped over it. With trembling hands the scientist unlocked the lid and as he opened it a pained groan echoed through.

He held his breath as he shone a flashlight into the dumpster. There it was - a tall, green, turtle-like creature, barely conscious, draped in multiple purple attributes. 

Bishop quickly took its wrist and checked its pulse. The mutant was alive, the heartbeat confirmed it was an organic life form. He carefully pulled at the face, better not have accidentally trapped one of those convention people again, he thought.

But it was _real_. The longer he looked at the creature the more details he noticed - the skin was scaled and felt like leather, the hands had just three fingers each, a plastron that covered the front of his torso, the brawny limbs, the odd facial features…

His heart was pounding. This was incredible, this was the golden opportunity he had been toiling for these past excruciating years.

He suddenly noticed the turtle was struggling to regain consciousness again.

“Hng… guys… wuhappen..?” it slurred quietly.

 _‘Guys’_ , that could mean there were more mutants nearby. As much as he wanted to witness these other creatures too, he would be outnumbered by them, the last thing he wanted was getting into a fight with them. From the roofs he could hear multiple voices.

He had to hurry.

He scrambled to get a syringe filled with tranquilizer he had prepared out of his coat’s pocket and jabbed it into the mutant’s thigh.

“ _Ow…_ what the..” the creature gasped.

It looked directly at Bishop, its eyes big and confused.

“Now now, no need to struggle, turtle. No need to struggle”.

He swore he could hear the mutant call softly for help as the medicine took over its body. As it dozed off the scientist hauled the mutant out of the dumpster - way heavier than he anticipated - and carried it to his car where he stuffed it into the trunk.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw three more figures jump from the roofs into the alley. It was his cue to get the hell out of here.

Adrenaline rushed through his body as he drove off with screeching tires. In the mirrors he saw the other figures get smaller and eventually disappear.

He sighed, having held his breath for way too long he noticed, and looked satisfied at the trunk in the mirror.

This was his one opportunity, and he wasn’t planning to let go of it anytime soon.


	2. Under the Microscope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie wakes up.  
> All is not Gucci.
> 
> Chapter by eternalglitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hot note I don't know Bishop from other iterations, so. I did my best!!

Waking up is like wading through a pool of thick mud.

Thick, sluggish, uncomfortable mud.

Donnie twitched, his tongue tacky and his limbs unnaturally heavy. It felt, to put it bluntly, _awful_.

It was like when he had experimented with a sleeping drug to try and get Leo to take it during one of his bad weeks and had had the brilliant idea to try it first himself… and let’s just say that there was a reason Leo still had insomnia.

Donnie forced himself to crack open an eye, immediately recoiling and blinking as bright, bright white light flooded his vision. Gross, who used purely _white_ LED lighting? It was a terrible aesthetic, unless you wanted to play dress up mad scientist. He preferred purple or yellow tinted at the bare minimum.

“Raph…?” he mumbled, trying to sit up. “What’sthewhathappened,” he slurred, tongue fighting his attempts to articulate. Pressure, pressure against his chest and wrists, stopped him cold. Like a dripping faucet, little sensations started to buzz on the edge of his consciousness.

His shell, pressed against a cold surface, warm padding gone.

Warm steel– he always knew the different metals by touch alone– clamped on his ankles and wrists.

A throbbing in his thigh.

And, just to jazz up his already no-good very terrible day, a killer headache.

“Fascinating,” a voice mumbled, the sound of a pen scratching over paper piercing Donnie’s head. “It looks like it has some linguistic capabilities. Perhaps a vocal learner, like a parrot? It’s brain must have larger shells as well, or– or the pretense of brain pathway duplication–“

“Can I please have a moment,” Donnie finally got out. “Before I have to listen to the drivel of someone that read a wikipedia article once when they were eight?”

There was a pause, and finally Donnie’s eyes adjusted, the soft-shell blinking as he strained his neck to look at his body. A thick leather strap ran across his plastron, digging slightly into his arms on either side. He could see another one over his knees in addition to the shackles on ankles. From his current angle he couldn’t quite get a read on his wrists, but he was certain it was the same.

He turned his neck, looking around. A lamp not unlike what one would use to heat a pet lizard’s cage was precariously tied up to point right at him, and he was pretty sure he was on an old hospital gurney. There were dusty shelves lining the walls, making the small space feel even more cramped, and the walls had lines running up and down the metal that they were made out of. A man was sitting in a swivel chair next to him and a small folding table, pill bottles and syringes present that made Donnie’s eyes linger. The man himself was unremarkable; in fact, his initial thought was on point, like usual. This guy was definitely playing dress up mad scientist.

“Am I… in a _storage unit?_ ” he processed. “Dude, who are– I mean, _what?”_

“…okay, so not purely vocal mimicry,” the man said, brow furrowing. “I suppose this does open new possibilities of scientific research–“

“Stop monologuing,” Donnie demanded. “Who are you? Where are my brothers?”

The man frowned at him. “…Bishop,” he finally said. “I’m the scientist, John Bishop.”

“That’s a lie,” Donnie shot back. “No real scientist would introduce themself like that. What, don’t have a doctorate?”

“…you’re quite rude.”

“Oh, and your observation skills are just _stellar_.” Donnie felt sweat trickle down his neck, his eyes bouncing around as he tried to look for hints as to _where_ this storage unit was. Or his tech. His head felt lighter than it should, so he could only surmise that his goggles had been nabbed as well as his battle shell.

“Well, I–“ Bishop set the clipboard he was holding down on his lap. “That doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “Once I show my findings to the Science Institute of New York, they’ll practically be begging me to hold seminars, and talk shows, and… well.” He pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Things a giant humanoid turtle would not understand.”

“But you’re literally–“ Donnie started to argue, a smirk on his face, when the man suddenly stood up, setting the clipboard down on the chair he was sitting in. He reached down and picked up the syringe, testing it by squeezing the plunger down. Donnie stopped talking, paling at the thickness of the shaft of the needle. “I don’t suppose I could… offer to build you a half decent chemistry set instead?” he tried. “Or an actual mad scientist lab? I have some different colored LEDs, any color or aesthetic you want with exposed buttons– _OUCH!_ “

He sucked in a breath, hot pain blooming in the crook of his elbow. “Hmm, I missed the vein,” Bishop muttered, the pain withdrawing before it stabbed him again, a little bit to the left.

Donnie shakily let out his breath, letting his head loll to the side so he could see the man draw his blood. “Okay, are you happy?” he grumbled. “You got a viable sample for you to mad science your heart out. Now can you please just let me go? I won’t cause you any trouble, I’ll just go.”

That was a lie; as soon as he had wifi and so much as a smart watch, he’d be hacking some systems for any info on this man and making moves to erase any signs of his own presence here… or at least, right after he called his brothers. God, this was embarrassing, how did this hack catch _him?_

“Hey,” he started again, when the man sighed.

“Okay, you can understand the concept of deals, apparently,” Bishop said. “Tell you what. Be quiet and cooperate, and I’ll let you go later today.”

Donnie hesitated. What was a little bit more evidence to erase? The man wouldn’t learn anything about Donnie that would make him more of a threat than he already was, and Donnie could lie more convincingly if it looked like he was willingly going along with it. All he had to do was wait and then go get his brothers.

All he had to do was wait.

“…okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A jump in the timeline, I really wanted to try to write how far Bishop was willing to go.

“When are you planning to let me go?”

The scientist raised an eyebrow. “I beg you pardon?”

Donnie had spend the whole day shackled to a makeshift operation table. Bishop had been there, carefully poking, jabbing, pinching at his body, questioning him, writing down notes on his clipboard, occasionally hum in what Donnie assumed was approval.

“You heard me, you said if I cooperated you would release me today, I’d appreciate it if you told me when.”

“Don’t worry turtle, in about five hours I’ll let you go,” the man stated calmly.

“That’s good I suppose, I mean if I were to ignore this whole keeping-me-prisoner-and-boring-me-to-death-with-your-examinations situation,” Donnie deadpanned. 

“Of course, by that time the board of the Science Institute of New York will be here to collect my test results, and they’ll deal with you in a more professional way”.

The purple-clad turtle shot up. “Wait, you’re gonna let those guys take me away?”

“Naturally. You’re my golden ticket to restore my reputation at the institute again. I’ve worked _years_ for this moment”.

Donnie was seething with fury. “So you’re telling me that kidnapping me and selling me out was part of that plan? _You’re okay with that? Don’t you have any morals?_ ” he yelled and fought against the restraints in vain.

Bishop ignored him, still writing down notes.

“You’re a pathetic excuse for a scientist, you know that?”

That made something snap inside the man, as he slowly walked closer towards Donnie’s head.

“Well that’s adorable, with those big words I’d almost think I’m dealing with mankind himself right now.”

Donnie glared at him, trying to hide the fact his whole body was trembling.

“Oh you can try all you want, you can try to be more human-like by acting like a child, pretending you have a family that cares about, drawing on those ridiculous eyebrows and donning a cute nickname”, Bishop leaned closer to him.

“But you’ll always be an animal, a wild beast first, and you’ll never be able to change that. And I think, no, I’m convinced the world thinks the same about that, turtle… It makes me wonder why you even bother to try.”

Donnie pulled his head into his shell a bit, the words echoed through his mind and pierced through his soul like a dagger. 

That… that wasn’t true… that man couldn’t… he wasn’t…

_Remember what dad used to say, Donnie…_

“Now open up your mouth, I need to inspect your oral area.”

“No I’m sick of this, you can _shove it_ ,” Donnie said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t be stupid brat, you’re getting on my nerves,” Bishop growled to him and pried open his jaws.

In a split second Donnie snapped his mouth shut, digging his teeth as hard as he could into the scientist’s hand. 

“ _Ow!_ Why you godforsaken son of a-” he yelled and yanked his hand back. Donnie saw him inspected the wound, muttering words Splinter would never let him hear. No real physical damage, just enough to hurt Bishop’s ego.

_“I’ve had it with you! If you insist on acting like a wild animal, i’ll treat you like one!_ ” he stomped off and disappeared from Donnie’s field of view. The purple-clad turtle could hear him yanking open drawers and scrambling through its contents.

He heard Bishop approaching him again, suddenly something tight was looped over his snout. He couldn’t move his jaw, he couldn’t yell, _he couldn’t breathe…_

“Unruly dogs should be muzzled, don’t you agree?” Bishop said mockingly as he fastened the straps behind Donnie’s head.

Donnie breathed deep through his nose and told himself not to panic, don’t panic, _don’t panic…_

“The board of the institute will be here in five hours, so you oughta behave yourself when they arrive,” the scientist demeaningly patted his cheek.

“And get used to these examinations, it’s gonna be your life from now on,” he said as a dark smile grew on his face. “In comparison to those guys I’ve been quite gentle with you.”

The poking, jabbing and pinching continued, and rendered unable to protest Donnie pressed his eyes shut, praying that his brothers would be at his side soon.


	4. Escape Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An escape attempt is made...
> 
> Chapter story and art by jadethestone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the board of the scientific institute could arrive any minute soon to take Donnie away he managed to free himself, only to be shot by Bishop with a tranquilizer dart. As the scientist leaves to greet his guests, Donnie is left alone.

The purple-clad turtle struggled to get up from the floor and leaned against the wall.

 _This is your only chance to get away_ , a voice kept shouting in his head.

Keeping his arms against the wall for support, Donnie slowly walked to the window. His body protested every move he made as if his limbs were made of lead, lights danced before his eyes and his thoughts were swirling through his mind. If only he could lay down and close his eyes, just for a little while, the floor looked so soft and inviting...

 _Focus Donnie, they’ll take you away if you don’t hurry_ , it repeated desperately in his mind.

The window, it was so close.

_I wanna go home._

Donnie froze, his legs gave in and he was on the ground again, all senses numb. 

_Please let me get away._

Dark figures crawled through the window. They crept up on him. He couldn’t make out their faces, everything was too blurry as they had him cornered. 

He was too late, they were here, _his only chance to see his family again was gone_.

Donnie squirmed and tried to fight back as they grabbed his arms and pulled him up. He wanted to yell, he wanted to scream for his brothers, but no sound escaped his lips as his tongue sticked to the roof of his dry mouth.

Hot tears stang in his eyes.

And then he fell silent. He could hear his name being called. Multiple voices, warm, concerned and familiar.

The last thing he saw was the figures lifting him up, a hand gently stroked his head.

As the shadows took him away he slipped into a deep dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point I'm very tempted to write a full fic around this story.


	6. Breaking Not Broken Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Healing is the hardest path to overcome, and even though Donnie has the support of his family it might not be enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this started out as a gift and now it’s trauma! hooray!

The darkness had returned. Donatello had dealt with it before, but never on this level, the straps on his chest and wrists were so tight he could feel his heart in his head. Desperate for blood flow. By instinct he pulled against his restraints. But he knew this dream well enough, nothing could break it.

Just like he knew what was coming next

A laugh echoed around him, as dark and empty as the void around him. He could just make out the shape of a tall human and the curve of a sadistic smile, “You can try all you want, you can try to be more human-like by acting like a child, pretending you have a family that cares about, drawing on those ridicules eyebrows and donning a cute name.” The shadow leaned in closer, he had sent his before but just like last time he desperate pulled on his restraints, he could feel his fingers growing number the harder he struggled. His breath coming in in panicked droves, taking what little sanity he had left

The voice returned as a whisper crawling over his skin“but you’ll always be a wild animal.” Joy brought brought on by his misery, by his efforts to hide his terror and his pain.

But in that moment, all sarcasm, witty comebacks failed him. Instead replace by a half strangled scream. Jolting him into another dark room, a moment later he heard a curtain open nearby, “Don I’m coming!” The ladder by his bed quivered indicating someone climbing. The mere thoughts of someone being closed to him made him treble as he rolled away, his first instinct was to kick away the intruder but his body could do barely more then roll away, “Don its’ me, its ok.” Th voice said, far to close to his liking a hand touched his shoulder causing him to jerk lightly, “Sorry sorry.” The voice said full of regret. Not that it mattered, his body overcame with shivers. His body aching in time with his aching head and panicking lungs

“D.” The voice started again, much softer then before, “Do you know what the seventy fifth decimal of pi is?”

Don would of rolled away further if his bed would allow it, but the question was rather simple. It was logical, a realm he knew all about, “six.” He answered with barely more then a whisper, his aching jaw protested the movement and hindering his voice , “obviously.”

“Yes obviously,” replied the voice, now that he could breath again it was achingly friendly. He knew that voice, “ What was Thomas Edison’s greatest achievement?”

Thomas Edison, the name made his face screw up, the question itself brought back a feeling, sitting in front of the tv watching a old documentary. Not for any knowledge but rather to point out all the wrong facts. He had been watching it with someone, someone who kept asking him questions about Thomas Edison with the sheer purpose of making him rage. Someone who had ended up laughing so hard he had squired soda out of his nose….

“St-stealing everyone else’s inventions.”

A three fingered hand began to rub his shell, “Yup good job.” Hearing Leo speak so softly was still unnatural to him, but he could feel the tenseness leave his body at the now familiar touch. A voice someone could replicate, someone could even design gloves to make it feel like someone had three fingers. But not the specific questions meant bring back certain memories, “I just have one more question, do you know where you are?” 

Donnie released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, taking a few moments to fill his greedy lungs with oxygen, “I’m home.” He said with burning eyes, “I’m home and you’re Leo.”

“Hell yeah I am. And you are. Hell yeah to everything.” Leo rubbed his shell again, “Great job man, this attack didn’t last nearly as long as the other ones.”

“Tha-thanks.” Ever since Donnie had been saved from Bishop panic attacks had begun a routine, as did the nightmares.

“Can you roll over? I want to check on your wrists.”

“S-sure.” Don started to squirm over when he felt Leo take his shoulder, helping him onto his shell. He would of normally detested the help, but ever since he had returned from Bishop his body came under a disease. Whether it was from malnutrition or maybe something Bishop had given him on the off times he had passed out Donnie didn’t know, only that it left him extremely weak barely able to do more then roll around and walk to the bathroom. It was only then Donnie realized he had sweated through his hoodie, again, “Oh damn” He cursed lightly

“Don’t worry about it. Mikey washed your backup hoodies, he’ll bring them in here when hes’ done” Leo said pulling his arms from under his blankets, checking his bandaged wrists with a soft touch. As much as Donnie liked to tease him, Leo really was a good medic, “No bleed through this time, atleast that’s good. Do you want to try to eat anything other then soup?”

“No.” Don could already feel his stomach clench, daring him to try anything not to mention his jaw hurt so bad he could barely move it, “I’m not hungry. I’ll try to eat later.” Donnie squirmed out of his hoodie before dropping it over the side of the bed, his body imediatley protested its loss of warmth by shivering. Leo ducked off the bed and a moment later came back with a thick blanket, draping it over him, “You should atleast drink something, for me? You can take more painkillers ”

That that was a good idea, considering how many hoodies he had sweated through in a few days, he allowed Leo to wrap a arm around his shoulders, guiding him up to a sitting position, Don drank greedily from the glass offered to him before he laid back down. He was only up for a few moments but his body was already complaining about the movement. His body would stop aching in a few minutes when the medicine kicked in again, it was the only reason he could sleep without being in pain all the time he hated the idea of needing help with even the simplest things, “I-I’m sorry Leo.”

“Don’t apologize, ever,” Leo put a hand on his scalp, guiding his head around to look him in his rare serious expression, ‘None of this was your fault, if we hadn’t taken so long-“

“You did everything you could,” as hard as it was for him to admit it, Bishop really was brilliant. As soon as he had been captured, the scientist had been sure to dump his gear, even most of his accessories to prevent anyone from tracking them. That and his ability to avoid cameras were part of the larger reason it had taken Leo and the others longer to find him then it should of. To be honest, no one had told him how long he had been captured but he knew how ever long was too long. 

Yet

His brothers, his dumdums had found him  
They had saved him

For not the first time that night he felt his eyes began to burn again, Don blinked them away to save his pride before looking to Leo. Judging by that soft smile, his moment of weakness hadn’t gone unnoticed. So instead he twitched his hand towards him. Leo took the hint and took it in his, “Don’t go.” He asked, “Please.” Too tired to care about his selfish request.

Leo smiled “No prob D.” He shifted around to sit with his shell against the wall. The sight of his brother, knowing he wasn’t alone, gave Don the courage to close his eyes and attempt sleep once again. 

Leo knew Donnie had a long recovery ahead of him, his brother still refused to talk about everything that had gone down with Bishop, but if Don’s condition, night terrors and screams of panic were anything to go by, maybe he didn’t want to know. Of course he wasn’t the only one who felt that way, he had come across Mikey crying a few hours earlier while making soup for Donnie. Raph still hadn’t talked about how he felt, but he knew their brother was once again carrying blame for taking so long to find Donnie. 

Now they took turns sitting with Donnie, whether he was asleep or awake, to help guide him from his panic attacks and wake him when his nightmares became too intense. He felt bad for not being there for him initially, Donnie had been sleeping so soundly he had been hoping to grab another pillow before anything happened. Leo had found that establishing fact and reality were the best ways to help Don calm down. At first they had tried asking questions about their family but that would drive him into a deeper panic, giving Leo the indication that Bishop had tied to find out more about them. 

Bishop

He squeezed his brothers hand again. Revenge would come soon enough, even if he had to do it alone. He would hunt down Bishop and ensure he felt every pain he had inflicted on his brother ten fold. 

But for now?

For now he was going to do everything he could to make Donnie feel safe again


End file.
